Oil marketers on Sunday appealed to Federal Government to effect quick payment of its outstanding N800 billion subsidy debts.

The marketers, underthe aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), made the appeal in a joint interactive session with journalists in Lagos.

They urged government agencies saddled with the settlement of the payment to expedite action to save marketers from closing shop as interest on loans mounted.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) had in its Oct. 31 resolution directed the Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO) to meet with oil marketers and other stakeholders on grey areas and report back within one week.

Mr Clement Isong, Executive Secretary of MOMAN,said that the unpaid debts had negatively impacted their working capital leading to their inability to pay their banks and service providers.

He urged government agencies concerned to address the bureaucratic bottlenecks causing the delay in the payment process, adding that the delay had resulted in degrading oil and gas downstream subsector and hampered marketers’ business operation.

According to him, the major challenge the Nigerian downstream petroleum sector is facing is the non-payment of the long outstanding fuel subsidy to oil marketers.

Isong disclosed that the debt owed MOMAN members alone stood at over N130.7 billion as at August 2018.

He said that once reconciliation had been done and a particular figure was agreed as debt, he could not understand why settlements had not been made. (NAN)